SAN FRANCISCO, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Scion and global creative agency ATTIK are literally putting the pedal to the metal in the youth-focused automotive brand's national cross-media launch campaign for the all-new, 200hp, rear-wheel drive 2013 Scion FR-S sports coupe. Today, the brand and agency executives are very proud to detail their new "Driving is Back" campaign, which is currently debuting numerous advertising placements across the country.

"Scion is extremely excited about the launch of the FR-S," said Jack Hollis, Vice President, Scion. "The rear-wheel drive sports car is the brand's halo car that pound-for-pound and dollar-for-dollar, is igniting the passions of a whole new group of driving enthusiasts. Together with our partners at ATTIK, we are absolutely thrilled to kick-off the campaign inviting everyone to rediscover the fun of driving with the FR-S."

"In this campaign, the radical new FR-S itself is first and foremost," began ATTIK co-founder and executive creative director Simon Needham. "To us, there are very few exciting cars out there that are also practical on some level... and the FR-S gets great gas mileage while maximizing performance. So naturally, our campaign demonstrates the power and handling of this amazing car – most often in the hands of drifting champ and renowned racing driver Ken Gushi, who drove the car in many of the exciting driving scenes. Across every campaign facet, our overall goals are to excite, inspire, drive people to explore the FR-S online and get them into dealerships and behind the wheel."

The "Driving is Back" campaign was conceived by ATTIK's creative director Ron Lim, art director Mike Cornell and copywriter Andy Sciamanna, and its out-of-home elements are now live in 40 locations in 26 major U.S. markets. Today, the first of three :30 spots will break... not only on young adult-targeted cable outlets where viewers are accustomed to seeing Scion ads, but also via NBCU syndication, and on NBC, Fox and every major sports network. First comes "Bringing the Sport Back to the Car," which will begin and end a three-month TV buy. Different campaign spots will appear between June 25 and August 5, and more video ads (all commercials and videos were directed by Needham) will run on the brand's social media channels and website well into September.

In print, the first spreads will begin to appear mid-June in Sports Illustrated, Maxim, Motor Trend, and Men's Journal, among many others. Banner placements are also blanketing most standard and some new targets for the brand starting today.

"Since the FR-S is Scion's biggest push into the sport coupe market yet, we wanted to extend our reach beyond our typical media channels," Lim explained. "This car already has a lot of buzz around it, and we are aiming to build on that excitement. Of course, television is still a powerful mass medium. We also chose mainstream automotive pubs for the first time. Our campaign is much heavier in details than usual as well. We're psyched about our specs and so are the automotive tastemakers; it was important to reach enthusiasts this time out. Andy and Mike really sold the experience of driving the FR-S."

Lim also shared insights into some of the more innovative media tactics the campaign will introduce in July. "We're also using smartphone apps to invite readers to watch the FR-S in action through Digimarc codes embedded in the print. Using their smart phones, consumers will be able to peek under the hood of the FR-S and see it in action. This is a great way to feature the very emotional driving experience within a static print ad."

According to Lim, Scion and ATTIK chose Digimarc technology due to its successful integration with the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue earlier this year, citing its track record, its powerful security features, and its ability to seamlessly present video as part of the agency's print ad, which is entitled Video Test Drive. That ad is scheduled to run in the July 9 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Finally, Scion's and ATTIK's executives are also putting the finishing touches on a powerful iAd that will appear in targeted apps for the iPhone and iPad and allow viewers to view videos and explore more features of the FR-S in amazing detail.

The brand and agency once again have many leading technology, creative, production and post-production partners to thank for their campaign contributions. Among those are commercial production company Blueyed Pictures, editorial company Lost Planet, CGI/VFX company Brewster Parsons, and music company Squeak E. Clean Productions.

Scion, from Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., was developed with a new generation of youthful buyers in mind. Scion's mission is to provide distinctive products, the opportunity to personalize, and an innovative, consumer-driven process at the retail level. The brand features five ground-breaking models with a wide array of standard features: the xD urban subcompact five-door, the iconic xB urban utility vehicle, the tC sports coupe, the premium micro-subcompact iQ and the new FR-S rear-wheel drive sports car. The Scion brand often applies new practices in all aspects of its business and pushes the creativity envelope with non-traditional advertising and marketing to engage young consumers. Scion also supports originality through its programs in the artistic community. For more information, visit www.scion.com.

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